1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of crawling and modeling Internet web pages. In particular, the invention relates to a method and system for identifying targeted data on a web page.
2. Description of Related Art
Computer networks, particularly the Internet, provide increasingly important markets for goods and services. Currently, the Internet extends to millions of computers in more than a hundred countries. One service that uses the Internet is the World Wide Web (the “Web”). The Web is a system of Internet servers that support documents formatted in a markup language called HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”). A huge number of Web servers support HTML documents, commonly referred to as web pages, containing various types of information including text, graphics, video, and audio files. Typically, web pages are viewed on computers using web browser software, e.g., NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR or MICROSOFT'S INTERNET EXPLORER; however, web pages may also be accessed by other devices, such as personal digital assistants, mobile phones, etc.
Various technological developments have given rise to tremendous growth in the use of the Internet generally, and the Web in particular. These developments include the increased availability of both commercial and residential high-speed Internet connections, improvements in the capabilities of browser and server software, improvements in search services that allow users to quickly identify sources of useful information, and the dramatic increase in the amount of information that is available to users. As a result, a large and vibrant Web-based marketplace has emerged.
This marketplace provides consumers with a level of shopping transparency that was previously unavailable. Particularly in the retail sector, multiple merchants often offer the same or similar products such that consumers can find the same product available for sale on several different retail web sites. In this environment, consumers can compare pricing and other relevant factors by looking at retail web sites, without physically visiting multiple stores.
However, the process of comparative shopping by viewing individual web sites can itself be time consuming and inexact. Moreover, existing efforts to simplify online comparative shopping have significant drawbacks. Known examples of comparative shopping systems, such as those found at the web sites www.shopping.com and www.shopzilla.com, require the consumer to first identify a product of interest, then go to a dedicated web site and enter specific information about the product to obtain information about alternative sources of that product. None of the current systems provide a fully automated solution. The present invention satisfies this need.